“Plane Insanity”
(St Martin’s Press; $23.95)
Here they are, folks. Control freaks, sex addicts, crybabies, space cadets and sad-aholics–and that’s just the crew. Then there’s the flying barnyard of arrogant, drunken, malodorous, violent, loud-mouthed, certifiably insane, vomitous, selfish, whining and otherwise despicable human cargo: the passengers. Flight attendant Elliott Hester brings the whole heaving mess to life in this tattle-all-and-then-some book of air travel–air travel the way it really is, not the way airline ads make it out to be. Hester’s gift for storytelling, and the sprinkling of newspaper accounts about various airline incidents, will keep you turning pages long past your bedtime. Sure, Hester reminds you that most airline employees are responsible adults and that most passengers behave themselves. But that’s not why you read an insider’s scoop. Dirt sells and Hester tells. And if you think the airlines prod passengers as if they were cattle, wait till you read how they treat their employees. It’s enough to make you appreciate paying for your airplane seat–so long as you don’t have to sit next to some of the stinkers Hester so vividly recounts here. (ISBN 0-312-26958-7)
“The Quotable Traveler”
(The Lyons Press; $20 hardcover)
The saying goes that old men and far travelers may lie with authority. Thus history’s parade of travel writers, from Homer to Bill Bryson, are rendered suspects, and their musings perhaps all the more popular for the suspicions. One of a traveler’s most satisfying pursuits, between trips of course, is to read the wisdom that others have distilled on the subject–then promptly convince themselves and others that the idea was their own all along. Deborah McHugh has corralled travel quotes from around the globe and across the ages, from the satirical to the psychoanalytical. Here, for example, George Ade advises that “the time to enjoy a European vacation is about three weeks after you unpack,” and Ian Littlewood explains that “travel, as always, was the perfect solution for those who wanted to be free of grown-ups and yet not to grow up themselves.” Quotes are loosely organized by topic and stand on their own without explanation. The book suffers only from its scattering of clip-art illustrations credited to a Web site–like a row of so many telephone poles, they spoil an otherwise pleasant landscape. However, travelers are adept at taking blemishes in stride. And so, while this book is not quite ready for the coffee table, no bathroom counter should be without it. (ISBN 1-58574-405-0)
Guidebooks
“Southwest USA & Las Vegas”
(DK Eyewitness Travel Guides; $$19.95)
Pity any sight, natural or not, that must share space in the same book as the Grand Canyon. The photogenic gap is a tough act to follow, especially in a guide series that revels in page after glossy page of color photos. Even the flashy hotels of the Las Vegas Strip can’t compete. Yet if those other sights must stand in the shadows, they aren’t exactly left to wither. Tucson’s San Javier del Bac Mission, in informative cutaway drawings and interior detail shots, has seldom looked more graceful. The dunes of New Mexico’s White Sands National Monument have rarely blazed so bright. Route 66, Billy the Kid, slot machines, UFOs, garlands of chili peppers and golden-hued cliff dwellings all rub shoulders here, with just enough tantalizing detail to set you booking reservations. (ISBN 0-7894-8024-7)
“Panama Canal by Cruise Ship”
(Ocean Cruise guides; $18.95)
Geographically speaking, the Panama Canal begins at the Colon breakwater and ends 47 miles later at Balboa. But the canal spans a far greater distance, in the dreams of all who hoped for a shorter passage between the oceans and in the costs of making those dreams come true. In this book, author Anne Vipond goes beyond the standard cruise-guide fodder of ship and port descriptions. Though she supplies that information, she also tells the story of the canal’s arduous construction and what its eventual completion meant to the world. She fleshes out details on Panama itself and the countries and cities one is most likely to visit, and the plants and animals one is most likely to see, during a trans-canal cruise. There’s even a pull-out map of the isthmus with all major points identified. It’s a comprehensive work, enthusiastic and well-meaning, but one in which the research wasn’t thoroughly checked. A sentence on pages 51-52 claims that Mexico ceded California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to the United States as a result of the Mexican War of 1846-48. Anyone who remembers the Alamo, of course, will recall that Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836 and operated as a sovereign republic until 1845, when its congress voted in favor of U.S. annexation. (ISBN 0-9697991-8-7)
Gear
High Sierra Endeavors Sport Utility Trunk
(High Sierra Sport Co.; $277, suggested retail)
I don’t know how much farther multi-tasking can go, luggage-wise, than what High Sierra has included in its Endeavors Sport Utility Trunk, or S.U.T., for short. You’ve seen the rolling carry-ons that double as a backpack, and this bag does all that. But then it adds features from the steamer trunks of a century ago, with Tarmac-brand fabric, bungee cords and Ballistic nylon in place of leather and buckles. The two large compartments that form the “top” of the case swing on fabric hinges to reveal the bag’s cavernous interior, which holds a small garment bag. Zippers, pockets and movable dividers are everywhere. Like a fashion tote that amazingly unzips to become a pair of jogging pants, the Endeavors S.U.T. converts from steamer truck to rucksack by pulling padded backpack straps from a rear compartment. Or, the bag can just roll on its wheels, pulled by a rubber-grip handle that retracts when not in use. The only thing this bag doesn’t include is a kitchen sink, though with its 24-by-13-by-12-inch dimensions you can probably pack one in there yourself. (847-913-1100; or at www.highsierrasport.com)
